LOOOOK INTO MY EYESSSSSS!!

You are getting sleeeeepy ...... verrrrrry sleeeeeeeepy!!!!  You will feed me chickennnnnnnn and pet me for hourrrrrrrrsssss.  Okay ... wake up!!

It's been an experience with these kitties at the Chance household.  Snoopy went missing again yesterday.  I spent about ten minutes crawling under beds and looking in cupboards before I remembered the attack position.  Can you find the kitty?

Look how high this is!!!  Figuring out she wasn't going to get in a surprise attack this time, she came down and made a beeline for the OTHER bathroom where she gets fed.  That's so the door can be kept closed to keep Missy out.  Missy thinks there is not enough cat food in the world for her!!

Only having access twice a day, Snoopy now eats all her food at one sitting before following me to the living room for some lap love.  This girl is the most affectionate cat I've ever known.  In case you were wondering why Missy isn't in the pictures, she is NOT a lap cat.  She might sit at my feet for a few minutes, then she's gone to stare out a window.

Snoopy literally spent an hour rubbing all over me, coaxing out pets and rubs from one end to the other.  Pffttt Tufffttt ... that's me spitting out kitty hair!!  It's one of the hazards of all this kitty love.

Once finally comfortable, she goes right to sleep .... and you are not allowed to move.  It's the rules!!  I'm sure my pups wonder where I am for two hours every afternoon, especially when I come home smelling like a cat house!!

Since I figured out the bat problem with the hummingbird feeder, the hummers have been going crazy.  It must be the time of year.  There are always at least six or seven flying back and forth making sure no one is allowed to drink before their turn.

I love capturing these guys in flight.  You can see the white tips of their tail feathers.

You can also see what it takes to make a perfect landing on the rim.  I could sit for hours and watch them.  Instead however, I need to get moving.  MY moving day is fast approaching as I head to a rally meeting in California.  The only reason I'm going is to ensure I get a golf car for the ENTIRE week.

It used to be that was not a problem.  Then someone of importance decided I only needed one for two days.  Sorry folks, but I'm not walking around the entire fairgrounds every day looking for the 15 captains I need to meet up with to discuss how much ice cream to deliver, let alone needing one to make the deliveries when the time comes.  

Since you have to turn in your "material request" early, here's what I said.

Golf Cart:  ONE ... FOR THE ENTIRE SEVEN DAYS

Radio:     None, I'm giving it up for a golf cart for 7 days.

Hats:       None, I'm giving them up for a golf cart for 7 days.

Chairs:    None, I'm giving them up for a golf cart for 7 days.

ETC, ETC ..........   Think they'll get the hint???

It's poker night, so I'm off to purchase salad supplies.  I love it when the neighborhood gets together!!  I think I'll try to get my friends at my other home to do this.  We will see if California neighbors are as nice as Arizona neighbors are!!

I also went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens ... not really my cup of tea, but I was rather surprised.  Pictures tomorrow.

Solar ... By Hook or By Crook!!

I remember way back in the dinosaur era when we had to turn our lights off to keep the power bill down.  Leaving your bedroom light on was a federal offense, punishable by docking your 50 cent weekly allowance by 10 cents per incident.

We usually complied because that 50 cents could buy FIVE comic books at the corner liquor store.  Oh I remember it well ... spinning the rack around and around trying to decide whether to get Superman or Captain America.

Then along came someone who invented solar panels.  Sorry, there won't be any pretty pictures of this subject.

It all came about when my girlfriend in California called to say she got solar for her house.  Not really interested since I keep my bill really low, I asked her what DEAL she got.  She put no money down, had the panels installed for free, and still pays PG&E the same $200 a month she's been paying for the last ten years she has owned the house.  So how is that a deal?  Maybe if the cost of electricity doubles in the year 2030.

I think she got hooked into a crooked deal.  The solar company gets all the extra electricity which they sell to PG&E for a profit.  In 20 years, if she lives that long (she is 68), she will own the system and probably NOT have a bill for electricity.

There's another reason I didn't want solar on my California house.  It would cover the entire front roof of the south facing building, making it much less appealing from the street.  No, this is not my house.  I think this is in Wales or somewhere totally irrelevant.  

How about solar here in Arizona?  I mean really, the sun shines most every single day.  Mr. Chance hooked me up with his installer, proven to be honest and dependable.  I called him up and got a lesson in solar.

Here's the deal ... at least in Arizona.  I could buy a 5 watt system for $15,000 and get a $5,000 rebate from the federal government.  From the day of installation on, I would have no electric bill other than a $19 a month charge to stay in the system, which most likely would be wiped out by the extra electricity I generated every month that Tucson Electric Power would buy from me. 

Sounds like a plan.  Sign me up.  The nice gentleman called me back in an hour to explain the laws.   How much solar wattage you are ALLOWED to install is dependent on your average bill every month.  If my bill was $200 a month, I could get a 5 watt system.  YAY!!  

Not so fast there honey ... your bill has been averaging $45 a month, which means you only qualify for a 3 watt system.  That gets you nothing for your $10,000 investment.  You will never be able to produce enough electricity to sell extra to TEP with a 3 watt system.  

In fact, you probably won't even make enough electricity to cover your bill for the month!!  It's the law and there's no getting around it.  They will not let you install a 5 watt system (or bigger) just so you can make money off the local electric company.

I was sort of in a panic over getting the system installed, since Arizona (at the bidding of Tucson Electric Power) was set to pass a bill saying it no longer had to buy from the homeowner at a profitable rate, any extra power produced by private solar panels.  

If you already HAVE a system, you will be compensated at the high rate already established.  If you have a system installed AFTER the passage of this new bill, you will receive the same rate paid to the big power companies that provide electricity to TEP.  In other words, there is no longer an incentive to install solar. 

I'm glad he was at least honest enough to tell me the truth ... that any system I am allowed to install will not be big enough to cover my bill, making my break even point come at about age 95.  It would just be a waste of money.  How many contractors will tell you that?  

As for solar on the RV, the same goes for comparing the cost against the use I would get out of it.  Rarely would I be in an area where I would dry camp, unless it was Quartzsite for one week out of the year, in which case I just use my generator.  If I were full timing, it would be a different story since I have a household refrigerator.  Solar would then be my friend.

Alas, I shall remain in the dark ages, hoping my retirement check will cover the rising cost of electricity wherever I go.  

A Big Hole In The Ground

First off, I hope all my friends in Florida are safe and sound.  Hurricane Florence is HUGE and is going to be devastating to anyone who decided to remain behind in the Carolinas.  It's just crazy that five tropical storms are in that area all at the same time, one headed for Florida.  Just look at this thing!!!  And I get scared with just a few monsoon lightning storms!

A big hole in the ground ... that's what I would be looking for in THAT storm.  Around here, the big hole in the ground is under my house.  I'm pretty sure it would NOT be considered a safe place to be.  With all the spiders and scorpions I've found, there's no WAY I'm going down there.

The crew from Superior Mobile Home Repairs didn't blink an eye.  If I had their gear, I might actually think about it twice.  Covered from head to toe in coveralls with breathing equipment, headlamps and what looked like scuba goggles, down they went into the depths to check the braces underneath.

Amazingly, it was dry.  I was kind of worried about that since water underneath can devastate the footings holding up the middle of the house.  As with most companies, there was of course a sales pitch.  They took dozens of pictures of every place there was a hole in the vapor barrier.

There is a black plastic sort of material underneath keeping the insulation dry.  Over time, it gets torn open by plumbers and whoever else may have to do work down there.  Yes, it probably should be repaired.

I have to say though .... did you ever take a picture of something (like maybe a spider) and then look at it on your computer?  It could be only half an inch long, but the picture makes it look six inches wide?  That's what I was thinking as they showed me all these spots that needed repair for a total of $595 MORE than the $395 to do the leveling.

In the back of my head I'm thinking ... I've got scuba goggles, dust masks and a roll of gorilla tape ... why can't "I" do it for free?  All I need is a pair of coveralls.  So I passed on their generous offer.

As to the leveling, in came a five foot long level and a laser beam on a tripod.  He walked throughout the house, taking measurements.  It seems my bedroom side needed a little TLC.  Generally, you can tell by cracks appearing in the wall corners and doors that will not shut.  

Lucky for me, two doors wouldn't shut because of the latches.  The very nice (and good looking) man grabbed a hammer and fixed them both.  I'm impressed ..... another company that provides good service.

I noticed later that I didn't have to hold the front door shut in order to flip the dead bolt, so leveling definitely helped that!

There was one more problem.  I knew the dryer vent wasn't kosher ... it looked like this underneath the house.  All those corners are perfect spots to collect lint, making the dryer not work so well, not to mention being a fire hazard.  I asked if he could give me a price on fixing that.

Yes ... yes he could.  Zero dollars to strap it up and cut off the extra three feet.  Seriously?  It took both of his men to fix it, so I gave him $50 cash and said they should all go out to lunch.  It was worth it to me to have it fixed.  You should have seen the amount of lint that came out of the vent.

I'm feeling pretty good about my house now.  No water leaks, it's level and my dryer vent is fixed.  Maybe I can find a pair of coveralls at the Goodwill store.

Next up .... I'll report on my venture into Solar panels for the roof.  

The Howl of Contentment

Yesterday morning as I was writing the blog, I could hear a huge pack of coyotes howling in the distance.  I love to hear their wails ... I like to think they are howls of contentment because I'm just content to sit on the porch and listen.

With a little bit of breeze coming up in the afternoons, I thought maybe I could get in some kite flying out at the fairgrounds.  I've no idea if they will chase me off or not, but this time of year there is no one around ... or at least that's what I thought!

I went directly to the back where the old RV park was located and immediately saw this coyote in the distance.  She was very wary when she saw me and stopped dead in her tracks.   I waited.

Pretty soon she continued on towards me.  I'm thinking this is crazy .... coyotes don't do this, they run away.  Unfortunately I didn't have my big camera with me.

That's really strange.  She went straight to the building and around the corner.  Okay ... weird coyote sighting is over ... time to fly my kites.  That's when I discovered my first big problem.  You must have a kite stake to hold the handles down while you unroll the lines and set up the kite.  Otherwise, as soon as you turn the kite up, it will fly off into the air dragging the lines with it.

I grabbed my stake and jammed it into the ground, almost breaking my wrist.  Yikes!!  The ground is like concrete.  I looked around for something heavy to lay on top of the handles, but there was nothing in sight.  Well shoot ... I guess I'm out of luck.  I made a note to stick a big rock in my Jeep.

As I slowly drove off past the building, I spotted the coyote sitting in the shade of a big tree, licking her coat.  Now that's REALLY weird.  When I got home and enlarged the picture ... sorry it's so bad, but it was a phone image ... I think I see why.  

No coyote I've ever seen has white legs.  Surely this is either a dog with the longest legs ever, or it's a hybrid.  Maybe it's Chupacabra!!!  One of the strangest things I've seen here in Arizona.  

Accept for this weird critter that I found hanging out on my screen when I got home.  What the heck is THIS?  Usually I see the biggest praying mantis' ever hanging out trying to catch dinner.  I'm thinking I'll sleep better when I get back to California knowing the only bugs in my house are flies.

I also discovered this guy is a horned lizard.  If caught in a bad situation ... like a snake having him for dinner is imminent ... they will puff up like a balloon.  Yup .... I watch National Geographic!!

I almost gave a big howl of contentment when I spotted these at the grocery store.  It's probably the only time of year I buy Oreo cookies.  They usually have the orange filling, but I think this is the first time I've seen the pumpkin face cookie.  YUM YUM!!

The kitty saga continues.  Every day now I'm met with open drawers and stuff piled on the floor.  I apologize to the Chance family ... so far I've just stuffed everything back in the drawers instead of folding it nicely.  Bad Nancy!!  

Apparently Miss Snoopy is missing her Mom and thinks that emptying the drawers might bring her back.  She spent the entire two hours yesterday sitting on my lap rubbing her head all over me.  I gave her lots of pets to ensure HER contentment.

Missy on the other hand is content to be the Queen of the Roost.  Yeah scratch me on the head a few times, then leave me alone.  It's so funny they all have such different personalities.

I had planned something cool today, like the Tucson Botanical Gardens or the Mini Time Machine Museum, but instead I'll be sitting here waiting for the home leveling crew to arrive.  Although called a manufactured home, this is actually a mobile home set on a foundation with blocks in the middle keeping it afloat.

Even though little water gets underneath, the soil still settles enough to require re-leveling so the doors and windows will work.  I had no idea.  My neighbor just above said they needed theirs done too, so I called and got us a discount if done on the same day ... which is today.  Maybe now my sliding door will close and it won't sound like a haunted house when I walk across the floor.

Do You Check Your Receipts?

It was a beautiful cool morning yesterday.  In fact, it's been almost frigid at 68 degrees in the mornings.  I go around and open up every door to let in the fresh air.  Then it's on to normal things, like preparing a first class breakfast for the puppies and Jonathan.  I think they eat better than I do.

Having run out of Cooper's chicken, I made a quick trip to Safeway, picked up a few things and rushed back home.

Do you check your receipts?  I do not, but that will change as of yesterday.  When I got home to cut up the chicken, it was raw in the middle.  Here's the other thing .... I never complain except to my friends, or in this case, the dogs and cats.

I decided to take the price tag back to the store and tell them ... a FIRST for me.  For no reason whatsoever, I checked the receipt.  Honestly, I couldn't even FIND the chicken.  Farmhouse Bacon??  What was that?   Expensive avocados?  Check.  Finally, at the very bottom, OPN NAT WH.  What the heck was that?

I went back over everything I purchased, even putting it out on the table.  Finally it dawned on me ... that was the chicken and they charged me for TWO!!!  Hey, I only bought ONE!!

Back to the store I went, asking for a Manager.  I explained about the raw chicken, but that it didn't really matter since I was feeding it to my dog.  But I wasn't happy about being charged for two chickens.  She refunded me the entire $17.98 with a smile.

The moral of the story?  Always give your receipts a once over.  It might save you lots of money.  I mean really, that could be two lousy tacos and a lemonade!!

On the way home, I looked down this road for the umpteenth time.  There is a long string of geocaches set out in remembrance of his Vietnam buddies, most of whom did not survive.  I figured it was an appropriate day to check them out.

With no one in sight, I tromped through the mesquite trees and creosote bushes, always keeping a wary eye out for snakes.  You follow the arrow on your phone map until you are within several feet, then you try to find either the box or tube, whatever it is that contains a log sheet for you to sign.

It's like a fun treasure hunt!  Kind of fun anyway, until you get your hair caught up in the tree branches and your legs scratched from trying to skinny between the bushes.  I definitely should have worn long pants.

Luckily I found about four before being bit by a HUGE ant the size of Cooper.  Okay ... enough of THAT!!  I headed back home to discover four bites on my legs from something caustic.  They itch like crazy.  Are there no-seeums here?  Geocaching ... it's so FUN!!!

Once home, I did the once around check just to be sure there were no creatures to add to my marks on the wall.  Just like notches on a gun handle ... Dead Spiders - 3.  Dead Scorpions - 2.  Hopefully there won't be any more added to that anytime soon!!

There's one more thing you need to check besides your receipts.  Really check out those emails you receive before clicking them open.  I received one from Pay Pal who wanted proof of income before verifying my credit.  I don't even have a Pay Pal account ... but if you do, NEVER verify anything.  It's a scam.

One more from Barclaycard U.S.  It's mandatory that you verify this information before your on-line banking can be restored.  On my computer, which is a Mac, if I move the mouse over the name (without clicking) it will show a small downward facing arrow.  If I click on that arrow, it shows the entire address of the sender.  You can easily tell it's not from Barclaycard.

Same goes for one I received from Apple about not being able to log into my account.  Verify information.  That one almost got me since I had recently had a problem signing in to update my phone.  I checked the sender's address ... it was totally a fake, even though it looked absolutely real.  BEWARE of people trying to sneak into your back pocket.

I think I'm up for a little more thrashing and crashing today ... I'm going to hit the rest of those geocaches .... with long pants and cowboy boots.

NEVER FORGET

Look Out ... I'm Cooking Again

Another wonderful storm came by for a visit so I snapped a few more lightning images.  This one seemed to be much further away, so I was able to sit on the patio and enjoy it.

Jessie, on the other hand, tried to get to me by crashing into the screen door.  Luckily there was no damage to her OR the door.  Gosh ... she came from Alabama.  Don't they have storms in Alabama?

I came back inside, grabbed an old afghan and completely covered her up.  That was all she needed.  With rain still falling, it began to feel like grilled cheese time.  Weird how that happens.

I headed straight to the freezer for bread, but only found hamburger and ice cream.  You can't make a grilled cheese sandwich without bread.  But WAIT!!  I have a bread machine!!!

I gathered up all the ingredients, noticing one bag of flour was kind of outdated.  It shouldn't matter ... it's been in the fridge all year.

Following the recipe, I added everything in it's correct order.  I could just TASTE that grilled cheese.

All of a sudden ... CRACK   BANG   OUCH!!!   Good grief Charlie Brown ... that darn microwave vent cover fell down again, hitting me right on the noggin!!  Must be some ghosties around here because magically, it flew across the kitchen!!

I've had it with that thing.  Apparently the museum clay stuff doesn't really work in warm environments.  Well it's not going to happen again.  I grabbed a piece of gorilla duct tape and taped it to the cabinet.  It's rather redneck looking, but at least it won't fall off any time soon.  Parts are not available .... I need a new microwave.

Back to the bread ... I can just taste that sandwich I'm going to have for lunch.  Wasn't I surprised when I hit the ON button and 4:04 showed up.  That means the bread will be done in FOUR hours.  So much for gilled cheese for lunch.

I had lean cuisine instead.  For dinner however, the bread was done.  I opened the lid and it looked like the grand canyon.  You can't see it here because I squared off the top and turned it away from the camera.  

Next time I'll set it on "light" crust.  It's so thick and hard, it was a little difficult to slice, but I was determined.  Grilled cheese was calling my name!!

FINALLY ... my taste buds would be satisfied!!  Sort of.  I made wheat bread, which probably wasn't the best choice.  I threw in a little tomato for good measure.  The flavor of the bread almost completely obliterated the cheese taste.  It was HUGE and I ate the whole thing!!

Now to just figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of that loaf.  After all, I'm on a diet!!!!

I spent another couple hours playing referee with the kitties.  Missy must have said something bad because Snoopy wanted to ring her bell.  

Suddenly Snoopy disappeared.  I called and called but couldn't find her.  I KNOW she did it on purpose.  As I walked into the bathroom, she jumped down from the top of the cabinet, six feet above the countertop, scaring the you know what out of me.  To make up for it, she came purring to my lap where she spent the next hour.  KIDS!!!!

My next project involves leveling the house, which apparently needs to be done every few years.  My floors make so much noise it's like thunder every time I walk around.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Outwitting Doves and Bats

Some days I should just stay in bed.  See this round thing hanging in the kitchen right next to my door?  It's decorated with Indian drawings and is called a Thunder Jug.  Not the one you're thinking about however.  Pull or tap the wire coil hanging down and it sounds just like thunder. 

I've no idea what possessed me to buy it and right now, it's lucky to still be hanging around.  Yes, I'm awake at 3:30 every morning, but that doesn't mean I'm AWAKE.  Unfortunately I got up before actually WAKING up.  

While balancing a dog bowl full of dry food with one hand and trying to get the door open so the kids could go outside, the coil hanging down caught my hair, causing a thunderous noise that scared everyone.  Jessie backed up hitting my leg causing me to be off balance, and step right into the dogs water bowl, the result of which sent dog food flying everywhere.  BIG SIGH!!!!  Why me???

Once the mess was finally cleaned up, I had TWO cups of coffee to be sure I was awake.  It was definitely a two cup morning.

Then it was on to removing the doves nest from the rig.  Honestly, I don't know what possessed her, other than it is high.  That black paint is so hot in the sun you can't touch it.  Just so you know, doves are terrible nest builders.  There are barely enough twigs to keep eggs and babies from falling out.

I grabbed the ladder and crawled up as high as I dare.  I'm hanging on for dear life to the awning supports as I reach up.  My ladder is not tall enough.  Momma flew away ...  but rats!!  The nest is so wimpy that any movement resulted in it completely falling apart.  

I'm sad to say there WAS an egg inside and it fell to the ground through the bottom of the nest.  There was no construction there at all ..... just a big pile of twigs.  I did the best I could to scrape it all off, but could barely reach it with two fingers.  Hopefully she'll go find a TREE.

With that job complete and after the failed attempt at lobster enchiladas the other day and the not so great taco bar, I decided to make my own fish tacos.  I've been looking for a delicious taco sauce recipe, but they all required a blender.  Okay then .... Walmart provided this nice Oster blender that will also work for Italian Ice (my next project).

After roasting tomatillos, jalapeños and garlic, I ended up with a nice sauce ... not my favorite and a tad bit HOT ... but it will do.

On to the fish.  That part didn't work out quite so well.  Rock cod was on sale.  Time to try out that new barbecue mat.  Right off the bat I figured out it was too big and not letting enough air through.  Luckily, you get TWO.  I cut down the second one and transferred the fish over.  

Look at that!!  You really do get grill marks.  There probably would be MORE but they stuck to the mat in spite of PAM spray.  By the time they were done, they had fallen apart into small pieces.  No problem ... perfect for tacos.

Sorry, there are no taco pictures.  I took that first big bite and got a mouthful of bones.  They went straight into the trash.  You see when I was a kid, I choked on a fish bone.  If anything even remotely resembling a bone gets in my mouth, I'm history!!  All that work for nothing.  I had lean cuisine for dinner.

Next up ... figure out how to outwit the bats.  Here I thought my hummingbird feeder was leaking.  Nope ... it was the bats that come out at night.  They must have really good noses because they found that feeder every time. 

I caught them doing fly-bys, hitting the feeder and making the nectar run over the side and drip to the ground where they lapped it up.  Dozens of them!!!  Every day for three days I refilled the feeder.  

Finally, when Miss Patty heard me complain, she said "well everyone else takes their feeder in at night".  Okay then!!!  I now have a big sticky note sign that says BATS hanging on my sliding glass door so I remember to bring it in.

I'm happy to report it's working and I'm saving a fortune in sugar.   If only the spiders and scorpions were as easy to repel!!!

The Cat Whisperer

Well ... there's nothing like starting off your day with another scorpion underfoot ... especially when you are BAREFOOT!!  No he didn't sting me, but he sure came close.  Thought he could outrun me, the little bugger, but I smashed him with the flyswatter before he could hide.

I'm pretty sure my blood pressure is through the roof because my heart is beating a hundred miles an hour!!

Back to today's story, having been so rudely interrupted, I'm kitty sitting for the Chance family who is on vacation.  I'm not sure how that works, being retired and needing a vacation.

I'm not saying the kitties are standoffish or anything, but they usually run and hide when company comes over.  Over the years I've probably been around enough that Snoopy (on the couch) will actually come and meow at me in return for an ear scratch.  Missy comes if you have food.

Missy would eat EVERYONE'S food if given the chance, so Snoopy gets her in the guest bathroom while I guard the door.  She's eating Mom ... not to worry.

Wanting to give them a little bit of company, I totally screwed up Dan's television programming trying to find something I could watch for a couple of hours every day.  Just for kicks, I called Snoopy and patted my lap.  She came right over, jumped up and settled in.  

Heavens to Betsy ... she has NEVER sat on my lap before.  Of course I AM sitting in Mom's chair while I snack on Dan's almonds which were too yummy looking to ignore.  By the way, Snoopy is Mom's cat and definitely a lover of females.  Now I'm stuck ... the rules say you can't move if there's a kitty in your lap.

Miss Missy on the other hand is not interested in laps.  She loves the pets as long as there is food attached to your hand!!  

Knowing how much kitties like to play with boxes and bags, I dropped one off in the middle of the floor.  In two seconds, Snoopy (can you guess where she got her name?) jumped in the box and began to play.  Auntie Nancy the cat whisperer got extra points that day.

The next day to Dan's dismay, she jumped right up on my lap again and started to purr.  She's not so much interested in "male" laps I guess.  

In case you couldn't tell, all these pictures are for the Chance family so they know their babies are being well taken care of.  Best friend Pat feeds them in the morning while I have the afternoon duty.

Maybe I need to get a cat.  Think they will keep the scorpions out????  At any rate, Snoopy girl even ate ALL her food at one sitting.  I think that's a first, since she prefers to be a grazer.

Hmmmm maybe a kitty would catch that rat on the front porch.  So far no luck, but maybe just the fact there is a trap there will keep him at bay.  That's when I happened to look out the window to find a dove had made a nest on my rig.  NOOOOOOOO ... you can't DO THAT!!  

I'm googling how to move a dove's nest.